Cavaletto Disappointed in Budget Result

June 1, 2009 on 8:39 am | In News Releases | No Comments

5/31/2009

Springfield, IL…. On Sunday evening, the Illinois House narrowly approved an operations budget using funds currently available in the General Revenue Fund. House Democrat Majority Leader Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie sponsored SB 1197 that funds state government agencies at a level of 51%. Currently, Illinois’ operating budget deficit is estimated to be between $7 and $12 billion. Earlier on during legislative action, a measure that would have raised the personal income tax from 3% to 4.5%, failed to garner sufficient support for passage.

State Rep. John Cavaletto (R – Salem) said late Sunday night that he felt disappointed in a partial year spending plan that passed the Illinois House “We have a real problem in this state,” Cavaletto said. “Illinois government has made a habit of spending more than we take in. For the last six years we didn’t have a revenue problem, we had a spending problem. The majority party failed over and over again to take responsible action and control state spending. So, here we are with a ‘half-way’ solution for an ‘all-the-way’ problem.”

Throughout the spring session, Democrats insisted that an income tax increase was the only solution to the state’s fiscal woes. “The minority party hasn’t had a hand in budget negotiations in a long time. My Republican colleagues aren’t responsible for this financial disaster. Our good ideas to reform government and spend taxpayer money responsibly have been repeatedly ignored. Tonight I challenge Governor Quinn, Speaker Madigan, and Senate President Cullerton to show some leadership, take some responsibility, and solve the problems that we face. They were elected to lead, they are the majority. They caused the problems and they should provide real solutions,” Cavaletto said.

It is estimated that the budget passed by the Illinois House on Sunday night will cause state agencies to run out of money before the end of the summer.